Industry has hailed the results of the UK’s AR7a renewables auction as a vital boost to investment and the country’s 2030 clean power targets.
The government today confirmed 6.2GW of onshore wind, solar and tidal stream projects secured 20-year Contracts for Difference agreements in the latest renewable energy tender.
A total of 4.9GW was allocated to solar, while onshore wind secured 1.3GW of contracts. Tidal stream was awarded 21MW.
Industry association RenewableUK said the successful onshore wind projects, which cleared the auction round at a £72.24/MWh strike price (in 2024 prices), will unlock £5bn in private investment, support up to 10,000 jobs and generate more than £6.5m in community benefit funds.
The group’s head of onshore wind James Robottom (pictured) said: “The new onshore wind projects announced today will bring much-needed jobs, private investment, community benefits and fresh opportunities for supply chain companies throughout England, Scotland and Wales.
“They are also vital to shield consumers from volatile global gas prices. Onshore wind farms generate clean energy at a predictable and stable cost and they’re one of the UK’s cheapest forms of new power, so they offer the best value for money for hard-pressed bill-payers trying to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.
“An investment in renewables is also crucial to keep pace with the UK’s growing electricity demand.
“This is set to increase exponentially in the years ahead, with more data centres, heat pumps and electric vehicles, so we need to ramp up our capacity to generate power fast, especially over the next five years, using clean sources like onshore wind which can be built out more rapidly than most other technologies.”
Vattenfall UK country manager Claus Wattendrup added: “The Contracts for Difference announced today show solid progress and competitive prices for onshore wind and solar in the UK – so we can’t risk slowing down now. Both technologies are very quick to build and cheap to run, especially when compared to gas.
“Right now, consumers care about one thing: their energy bills. The best way to keep costs as low as possible is to expand the cheapest forms of power generation here in Britain – shielding bill payers from volatile global gas prices and reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels.
“More onshore projects in the UK will also drive investment into local supply chains and create a huge number of well-paid jobs up and down the country.”
Solar Energy UK chief executive Chris Hewett said the PV results are a “positive milestone for the sector”.
“They are proof positive that (solar) provides the cheapest power available – and all while helping to cut reliance on what drove the energy price crisis in the first place: expensive and polluting natural gas.”
The trade association added the AR7a results, when combined with projects backed by corporate power purchase agreements and merchant assets, put the solar sector “broadly in line” with the capacity level needed to achieve 45-47GW of utility-scale PV deployment by 2030 under the UK government’s end-decade clean power targets.
Scottish Renewables meanwhile said the award of 1.4GW to 33 projects across onshore wind, solar and tidal in the country will “bolster investor sentiment and strengthen supply chain stability”.
Chief executive Claire Mack said: “Today’s auction result is another strong step towards energy independence and will galvanise continued activity throughout the supply chain.
“Scotland’s onshore wind sector continues to lead the UK market with 1.1GW of projects procured today. This builds on our strong capabilities here in Scotland to deploy onshore wind at a scale that delivers clear benefits for consumers and the wider economy.
“Solar power has an important role to play in meeting our future energy needs and the 11 projects that secured contracts will build investor confidence for the sector.
“Scotland’s remarkable marine energy resource gives our tidal sector huge global potential and we are delighted that Orbital has received a contract for its 2.4MW Eday 5 project in Orkney.
“To build on the success of AR7 across all technologies, we urge the UK government to remain closely engaged with industry to deliver the solutions that tackle highly volatile network charges to ensure future capacity is secured at best value to consumers.”